Title

Measuring Diameter and Length's frequency, using Copper Pipes

Problem Scenario

fishing line breaks, stick breaks

Broad Question

Does the frequency change when the pipes are different sizes.

Specific Question

Does the diameter affect the frequency of copper pipes?

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that the longer the pipe length it rings longer and higher,that the wider the diameter and same length the lower it is and the shorter it rings.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:copper pipes

Dependent Variable:copper pipes, drum sticks, Audacity

Variables That Need To Be Controlled: how the pipe is hit (how hard)

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

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General Plan

The general plan for the project is to make a copper pipe type of instrument. There will be a hollow box with different lengths of pipe and they will be secured by fishing line. Each of the pipes will be hit and measured through frequency and measured sound waves, How the experiment will be run is by hitting each of the pipes and measuring the sound waves through a frequency meter. This project will be run at home and at school. This project will be done over February vacation.

Potential Problems And Solutions

fishing line breaks, meter doesn't work, not able to access the

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

Experimental Design

(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

Resources and Budget Table

-copper pipe, 7 different pieces and different lengths, have it. starting at about 1 ½ ft then getting 2 inches smaller each pipe. There are 2 different sets of different diameters. (costs $30.00) already have it
-drum sticks, (costs about $5.00) have it
-chime stand, (costs about $50.00) have it
-string, (costs about $1.50)have it
-Auducity, frequency, program online.(cost-FREE) have it
-saw (for cutting pipe) costs $15.00 have it
-steel wool (polishing pipe) costs $3.00 have it
-screw gun (with drill bit) cost about $45.00, have it
-tape measure, (costs about 25.00) have it

Data Table

Time Line

Created Expirement on February 2, 2012 (still need to make frame, but pipes are done)
1)March 5 (start the trials)
2)March 10 (measure sound waves and pitch through “Audacity”)
3)March12 (keep doing trials)
measure sound waves and frequency through “Audacity”, also try hitting pipes in different locations. For example towards the top of the pipe of in the mid section of the pipe)
4)March 17 (see if hitting pipes harder, effects the pitch)
5)March 19 (keep doing trials)
6)March 21 (keep doing trials)

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Background Research

-the longer the tube the slower the sound waves travel which makes a lower pitch, the shorter the tube the faster the sound waves travel which makes a higher pitch
-copper needs to be held by a string or it will not ring long
-copper is the longest ringing metal
-using copper is known to have the best sound for wind chimes
- copper keeps the same sound for a very long period of time
-sound waves travel as a “longitudinal wave”
-distance between identical sections of the wave is called the wavelength-pipes make sounds when a still wave in the air column vibrates-louder sounds have taller waves
-the lowest note a pipe makes is the “fundamental” and a note of higher pitch than the fundamental is called an “overtone”
-when the sound of the pipe rings the sound waves are vibrating
-the waves are actually waves of energy passing through the pipe
-the sound waves first travel through the pipes and then the air because sound travels faster through metal than air
-sound is a vibration of kinetic energy passed from molecule to molecule
-the closer the molecules are and the tighter they bond together, it takes less time for
them to pass the sound to each other and the faster sound can travel, which makes the sound a higher pitch
-when the number of vibrations per second,which is the frequency increases,the wavelength will get smaller seen as though the waves are closer together
-when copper is ringing sound waves and molecules are bouncing back and fourth and hitting the sides of the copper pipe
-pipes produce sounds when a “standing wave” in the air column vibrates, a standing wave is a waves that stays in the same position

References

http://support.google.com/adwords/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2472714
http://epic.physics.missouri.edu/PDF%20files/Physics_of_Wind_Chimes-KimB.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency
http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mastascu/elessonshtml/Measurements/MeasFreq.htm
http://hop.concord.org/s1/core/s1cf.html

Detailed Procedure

Step 1- gather your materials:
-copper pipe, 7 different pieces and different lengths, have it. starting at 1 ½ ft then it goes to 2 inches smaller each pipe. There are 2 different sets of different diameters. (costs about $30.00)
-drum sticks, (costs about $5.00)
-string, (costs about $1.50)
-Auducity, frequency, program online ( the cost is free)
-saw (for cutting pipe) costs $15.00
-steel wool (polishing pipe) costs $3.00
-screw gun (with drill bit) cost about $45.00
-tape measure, (costs about 25.00)
Step 2-
Get your tape measure and measure 1 ½ ft for the first pipe and keep making each pipe shorter by taking off 2 inches each pipe for 4 times, then on the 2nd set do the same thing with 4 times.Step 3-
After cutting the pipe, sand the outside of the pipe with a plug in sander. Then take a piece of sandpaper and sand the edges to make it smooth. When you are done with that take some steel wool and polish is for a nice finish.

Step 4-
First get your screw gun with a drill bit in it and then get you pipe. About ¾ of an inch down from the top of the pipes drill holes to be able to be hung. The drill bit size is ¼ inch. It will be hung 6 inches down.Step 5-

Step 5-
Then gather your string, string it through the holes and then you have your project. All you need to do now it to create something to hang it onto, which is very simple. The project will be hung on metal pipes hanging. The pipes will go in order from largest to smallest and will be spread apart by 6 inches. Then the test will be run at school with Audacity. The two set will be across the room from each other.

Diagram

Photo List

picture of cutting pipe

picture of drilling hole
picture of putting string through hole
picture of hanging pipes
picture of hitting pipes
picture of audacity soundwave
picture of me computer and pipes
picture of pipes lined up
picture of me on computer (audacity)
picture of measuring pipes with yard stick or soft tape

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Results

I thought that the shorter the pipe with the small diameter would have the highest frequency, which it did. The longer and the wider it got the lower the frequency meter would read because the farther they have to travel. The overall results of the experiment that was tested was that the smaller the width and length the higher the frequency and the bigger the width and length the lower the frequency. In the results was it kept moving to the longer pipes the lower the frequency was.

All Raw Data

Graphs

Photos

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Data Analysis

Conclusion

The project that was tested was to see how the diameter and length affects the different frequency. The Independent Variable is the copper pipes and the Dependent Variable is the drum sticks, the Hz meter and the pipes. The experiment results overall are the bigger the diameter the lower the Hz is and the smaller the diameter the higher the Hz.

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Discussion

Discussion
By: Calvin Kalil
The project was to see The question was does the length and diameter affect the frequency using copper pipes? The question was answered and yes it does affect the frequency because the results came up as the wider the diameter the lower the Hz. For example. On the 16 inch pipe (which is the shortest) with 1 1/14 inch had a frequency reading of 803 Hz and on the same length pipe with 7/14 inch the results came out to be a higher frequency reading of 2266 Hz. The evidence that was found was that the same pattern kept repeating throughout the experiment trials. The hypothesis kind of does support the results because I stated “It is hypothesized that the longer the pipe length it rings longer and higher,that the wider the diameter and same length the lower it is and the shorter it rings.” Which basically is saying what happened with my trials. The experiment can be explained through the research and from the experiment itself because in the research it said that the smaller the diameter the higher the frequency would be, because the vibrations are moving faster in a smaller space which makes it sound higher.
Some patterns and trends that can be identified within the data and observations are that in the data it showed that the bigger the diameter the lower the frequency and the smaller the diameter the higher the frequency, but it stayed and kept the same pattern except for the last two pipes. The one with the bigger diameter on the second and third trial were higher than the smaller diameter on the second and third trial. It is hard to say why this had happened, but it may have been because the pipe may have been hit in a different place than the others or maybe harder than the others. The variables did not have a really strong relationship because the way we hit the pipes could have affected the results, like it could have been hit harder one time than the other. The relationship was not very strong. The challenges and problems that were managed in the project were it first was going to do the pitch but it was hard get a number from that, then decibels, but the way you hit the pipes could have affected the results, so in the long run the project through frequency. There really wasn’t any problems that arose during the experiment except for that I had to change the experiment twice. Overall the project went very well, but the project could have done better. The project should have been measured in frequency in the beginning and should have not used Audacity which is a good program, but it was difficult to get what was needed from the program. The experiment could have be run some things better than it was, but the project went well. The technology that is needed to conduct this experiment was an iPad to measure the frequency and for information needed is that the pitch is hard to get information from and the decibels would have to be hit exactly the same way each time or the data would be inaccurate. The information for someone learning about this in the future is ask to see if it is okay to do a certain way of getting data before you do it. The knowledge gained will be able to be used if they are measuring something in frequency, like the frequency of a bird chirping, if they were studying that. People who could use it would be a scientist and or someone learning about being a scientist. This could solve the different ranges of in which birds chirp to communicate, they could figure out how. New breakthroughs in information is figuring out how birds communicate using higher and lower frequency which means different sayings to the birds.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

Abstract

The project was tested to see how the diameter and length affects the frequency difference. The I.V. is the copper pipes and the D.V. is the drum sticks, the Hz (frequency) meter and the pipes. The experiment results overall are the bigger the diameter the lower the frequency and the smaller the diameter the higher the frequency.